Over the last 10 years we have custom built and made some beautiful and compelling interactive installations, apps, games and new ways of interacting with the customer

Our integrated, in-house team does everything (well, just about) from interactive conference installations and customised smart device apps (for iOS and Android) to web hosting, domain registration, web development and website maintenance. Plus we also create branded desktop and smartphone games, which we spend a fair amount of time test running too!

At Mann Made, we understand that interactive design is about easy-to-navigate user experiences, engaging web interfaces and thought-out user behaviours that drive users to your call-to-action. It’s an entertaining and interactive way to capture your customer’s attention, while communicating a personalised brand message.

We’re web whizzes and pretty good at problem solving too. So give us a brief and we’ll find the right tech and platform to meet your objectives within budget. We can add interactive elements to your event, activation, roadshows or social mediacampaign.

Our team is hand picked based on their coffee-making skills and ability to laugh at themselves, all while getting sh*t done on time and to brief.

Our custom-made, digital installations captivate and engage audiences at events, while communicating your personalised brand message in a way that will stick. No brief is ever too small or complex for us. Our installations take shape in a variety of forms and may be web-, gallery-, digital-, electronic- or mobile-based. And can also be a combination of all of these elements. Because we understand that no two brands are alike.

No matter how out-of-the-box your idea, the Magnesium interactive design team has the creative vision and brainpower to bring it to life. We work with credible suppliers from architects and engineers to shop fitters and electricians that will help execute your project with peace-of-mind professionalism.

We create to-brief installations complete with your brand’s look and feel, whether it be for an event, activation, roadshow or social media.

Imagine a branded mobile car showroom that you could pack thousands of cars into to be showcased just about anywhere. Can you picture it? Well, we made it possible when we delivered on a brief from McCarthy.

Nine interconnected screens connected to an XBox Connect and a large horizontal screen created a digital showroom for their database of listed cars. Potential clients could browse cars pulled from the live McCarthy database and interact with them by sliding QR code discs across the table that were scanned with an overhead camera. This takes purchasing decisions to the next level! And we’re proud to say that our installation evoked quite a few expletives.

We designed and built the cubicle with the help of our trusted suppliers, and showcased how installations can be an effective way of engaging with your clients at events.

SAB Kickstart Wonderwall Installation

The SAB KickStart Wonderwall needed to tell the stories of young entrepreneurs part of SAB’s poverty alleviation programme by moving away from the boring and usual exhibition booths and using technology and fun, innovative media. The result was the Wonderwall, an interactive installation that told the nominee’s stories through video and graphics, in 4XHD resolution. Visitors triggered playback by walking up to any part of the 9-metre long wall. Sixteen animated SAB-branded bottle caps responded to proximity, spinning up to reveal videos of each of the 16 finalists, allowing visitors to engage with their stories. The installation was a unique and engaging way for exhibition visitors to vote for the finalist of their choice before the KickStart awards ceremony began.

Pixels of Purpose (Barclays Banking on Abundance)

We’re proud to say that our Pixels of Purpose installation earned us a place as a finalist in the Loeries. Delegates gained entry into the two-day conference through a QR code that mapped out their information on a large screen and illustrated a DNA strand of common qualities and interests to assist with networking opportunities. The animated avatars and animated speaker title slides were another big hit that allowed for live and organic interaction. We also constructed Singularity University’s logo into a larger-than-life digital, interactive prism screen onto which we displayed projection mapping as backdrop to a performance by Lebo Mashile.

Apps

There are millions of apps out there and we’ve developed a sizeable number ourselves. If you’re still using printed planners for your event then you need to get with the times. There’s something we can do to help. Go green and allow Magnesium to conceptualise and develop a personalised smartphone app for your activation, roadshow, conference or social media campaign.

It can help you seamlessly engage your event delegates from beginning to end – from the RSVP process to floor plans, the presentation schedule, an exhibitors’ directory and speakers’ profiles. Our apps can enhance delegate engagement through gamification and competition elements, live forum features, one-to-one chat functionality, as well as live social media integration. They encourage user-generated content and push engagement beyond the event and its four walls. Our apps are built per each client’s specifications and also include an integrated feedback feature.

In true South African style, for Heritage Day Karan Beef wanted to create a value-add app (for iOS and Android) for their loyal customers, which was linked to a nationwide media campaign. Users could choose their favourite meat-lovers recipe with which to celebrate Braai Day and the number of guests, and the app would create a personalised shopping list and recipe with the exact numbers. Better yet they could share these recipes with their family and friends through the versatile web version of the app and enter the competition element..

MMI

MMI wanted a kickass app for their 2017 leadership summit that could keep delegates informed and engage them with a communication roadmap for the future of the company. We used a white labelled version of our Engage app, which was developed in-house by Magnesium. On site-tech support was there to help, as always. The app also provided valuable surveys and feedback to the client and was complemented with an industrial theatre component produced by our activations team.

Massmart

Often clients come to us with one main objective when it comes to app development: it has to be easy to use while providing an epic user experience. Usher in our custom-built, easy-to-use Engage app, which can be tailored to any industry or objective. For the annual Massmart managers and team leaders conference, the web version of our app was integrated with bulk SMSes to communicate and engage in real time with the delegates during the two-day conference. The client also wanted to use the app to provide general information, team tasks and the agenda, which it does seamlessly through its easy-to-navigate dashboard functionality. Naturally, as always, our on-site tech support was there to help. The feedback survey from over 600 delegates showed that 93% wanted to continue using the app post event and that 90% rated it ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’. Now if that isn’t considered a feather in our cap, nothing is.

Games

At Mann Made we really like our jobs and we’re good at them too! And who wouldn’t when our game developers spend their days using game engines to develop and test branded desktop and iOS or Android smartphone games that can be played online or offline. Animated games are an effective (and fun) medium to convey a brand’s story through creative content in an entertaining, engaging and visually-appealing manner. Branded advergaming is a thing, especially with the rise of free-to-play and social gaming. Just don’t blame us if you get hooked on our platformer and match-up games. Everyone likes a bit of rivalry and our games can include a competition element with built-in live scoring and a leaderboard or may be populated on big screens (which we provide too) at event, activation and launches. Ready, set, go!

We invented Candy Crush, before Candy Crush was even thing – just that we made a version with Sally Williams’ nougat products. Our client found that promotional games advertising their product range are an awesome way to engage with future customers and create brand awareness. We took advergaming to the next level with this match-up game and encouraged players to share it with their friends and family to see if they could beat their score on the leaderboard. The competition and giveaway elements sure got things fired up. Some people were playing this online desktop game every day to try win the weekly prizes.

Power Play

Mann Made has always been ahead of its time. Our branded social games that we make for various brands are easily shareable and have a competitive element too. We used a third-party game engine, Unreal, to build this action-packed imaginary world. This online, desktop platformer game had the gamer collect Play energy drink cans across various levels and still have enough energy at the end to take on the baddies. The leader board means that players could keep track of who would win the national prize.

Event WI-FI

We can barely remember a time before the internet. As an experiential agency, Mann Made understands the importance of a reliable internet connection that won’t drop you like it’s hot or constantly log you out. In fact, we’d even go as far as including high-speed and reliable internet access in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

The strength of our LTE connection (up to 60Mb/s) does, however, depend on the availability and connectivity at the site. Our internet packages are priced on a per gigabyte basis and clients can decide on how event internet usage should be capped: per event, per user or per day. You can choose whether the internet log-in page redirects to your website, social media platforms or customised content.

Should you choose, we can also capture users’ details into a database to help expand your network of customers. You can also control a user’s smart device functionality when they’re connected to your event Wi-Fi, certain social media platforms may be blocked or enabled in order to share promotional content about your event. We’ll sort out everything from the equipment rental, set up and server management to on-site technical assistant for the duration of your event. All you’ll need to do is connect.